ORIGINAL RESEARCH

 

A complicated grief intervention model

 

 

Cornelia M. Drenth^I; Alida G. Herbst^II; Herman Strydom^II

^IHospice Palliative Care Association, Northwest Hospices, South Africa
^IISchool for Psychosocial Behavioural Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom campus, South Africa

Correspondence

 

 

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ABSTRACT

Complicated grief refers to a prolonged state of grief and indicates the inability of the client to incorporate the death into his or her life. Few social workers in South Africa assess the possibility of complicated grief as a contributing factor to impaired social functioning. This can be as a result of limited knowledge, ignorance and/or insufficient skills on the part of the social worker to assess and identify complicated grief. In this article, the researchers tabulate some of the models and approaches to bereavement and discusses its applicability to complicated grief. Specific attention is given to the Dual Process Model (Stroebe & Schut 1999) and the Task-Centred approach (a social work approach to therapy) in an attempt to develop a model for complicated grief intervention. This article furthermore proposes the Complicated Grief Intervention Model through the integration of the Dual Process Model and the Task-Centred approach while drawing on intervention techniques from other therapeutic approaches.

Keywords: complicated grief; complicated grief intervention model (CGIM); Dual Process Model (DPM); grief; Task-Centred approach

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OPSOMMING

Gekompliseerde rou verwys na 'n verlengde staat van rou en impliseer 'n onvermoë by die klient om die dood van 'n geliefde in sy/haar lewe te integreer. Gekompliseerde rou word deur min maatskaplike werkers as bydraende faktor tot verlaagde maatskaplike funksionering geassesseer. Dit kan toegeskryf word aan beperkte kennis, ignorering van/of ontoereikende vaardighede by die maatskaplike werker in die identifisering en assessering van gekompliseerde rou. Die outeurs tabuleer sommige van die rouberadingsmodelle en -benaderings in hierdie artikel en bespreek die toepaslikheid daarvan op gekompliseerde rou. Spesifieke aandag word aan die Tweeledige Prosesmodel (Dual Process Model) (Stroebe & Schut 1999) verleen, asook aan die taakgesentreerde benadering ('n maatskaplike werkbenadering) in 'n poging om 'n model te ontwikkel vir gekompliseerde rou intervensie. Die artikel beveel aan dat die Gekompliseerde Rou Intervensie Model (GRIM) deur middel van die integrasie van die Tweeledige Prosesmodel en die taakgesentreerde maatskaplike werkbenadering aangebied word, terwyl intervensietegnieke van verskeie terapeutiese benaderings benut word.

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Correspondence:
Alida Herbst
Internal Box 184
North-West University
Private Bag X6001
Potchefstroom 2520
South Africa
email: alida.herbst@nwu.ac.za

Received: 23 Jan. 2009
Accepted: 24 Mar. 2010
Published: 29 July 2010